BKC Teachers Portrait

Wayne Rimmer, Director of Studies

In 2001 one of my first classes in BKC was an elementary group in a small satellite school which doubled as seminary during the day and language school at night. There was lots of religious paraphernalia in the school and those long Winter evenings I used to fight a losing battle with the icons on the wall to maintain the group's interest. One student in particular, Andre, needed little distraction and he must have memorized the view from the window where he used to sit. Given Andre's less than total commitment to his English studies, I was taken aback to meet him again three years later, late for his TOEFL class in the hallowed corridors of our Tverskaya school. Andre sheepishly explained that he needed TOEFL to get a scholarship to an American university. We used to bump into each other a fair bit after that and I helped Andre out with a research proposal he was putting together. Last December I got an email from Andre, now doing post-doctoral work in UCLA in laser technology (or something like that), thanking me for my help and asking why no one on campus spoke as they do on the TOEFL tapes. This little anecdote reminds me that, from icons to lasers, much has changed for me, Andre and thousands of other BKC students in the five years I have been here as teacher, ADoS and now DoS. Not every teaching experience is a success story like Andre's but I have seen plenty of evidence that we do make a difference to many students' lives, turning language learning into a positive and fulfilling event.

Irina Grekova, Director of Studies for Teacher Training Centre

My name is Irina and I am Russian. I graduated from Moscow State Pedagogical University and then received all the training available to me to further my development as a professional teacher. Up till now I've been teaching for more than 15 years all possible ages and levels.

An unusual part of my biography is that I lived in Cuba, Havana almost all my childhood, so I love Latin American music and dancing.

Being crazy about all sorts of certificates and diplomas (CELTA, DELTA) I got the advanced PADI certificate and regularly take trips to the Red Sea to go diving. I once dived to a depth of 50 meters and this is a personal best so far. I am very proud of it. Another passion of mine is downhill skiing and tennis. The thing I find most interesting about working in BKC is socializing with people from all sorts of countries. It's great we all get on so well together.

Jennifer Hillhouse, ADOS for VYL

My name is Jennifer and I’ve been living in Moscow and working for BKC-IH since January 2005, although I also spent two years teaching in St. Petersburg after university. Here in Moscow, I’ve been working as the ADOS for Very Young Learners for 3 years, and as the YL Coordinator for 7-9 year olds for 2 years. I’m also an IHCYL Teacher Trainer.

Clare Ashton, ADOS for juniors and teenagers

My name is Clare and I’m the ADOS for juniors and teenagers and co-ordinator of camp programmes.

My first experience of Russia was during the summer of 2001 when I did some voluntary teaching in Moscow. It was an amazing experience and I always hoped I’d find myself back here. Despite following a career in Secondary teaching for three years my itchy feet got the better of me and I decided to do a CELTA and travel.

I started working for BKC in January 2007. It’s a really interesting company to work for because nothing stands still, there is so much variety and you’re always meeting interesting people. My job involves supporting teachers who are new to teaching students between the ages of 10-16 (or more experienced teachers who wish to develop further) whether they are teaching in one of our Moscow locations or at BKC Country.

Julia Didenko, ADOS for Satellite Schools

Hi, I’m Julia, the ADOS of 5 satellite schools: Polezhaevskaya, Oktyabrskoe Pole, Rechnoy Vokzal, Strogino and Chimki. My original career was in law, but I did my CELTA with IH Krakow more than 3 years ago, and I’ve been in ESL full on ever since. My teaching experience includes all levels and ages - from 6-7 year-olds, teenagers, business adults, IELTS, you name it. Teaching each of these is both challenging and rewarding in different ways. 2 years ago I completed the IH Young Learners Course, and am gearing up for the DELTA. I’m up for almost any opportunity for professional development, and take whatever courses I can (right now it’s ‘advanced methodology’).

I came to work in Moscow after having worked in a sleepy town in the South of Poland. This gave me a new appreciation for Moscow’s cosmopolitan energy!

I enjoy being able to help teachers (really!), and find it a very gratifying part of my job. Probably much like you, I take pleasure in discovering new things and I love languages. I am an ‘eternal student’ in the sense that I never stop learning, be it another foreign language (at the moment I’m trying to advance my Italian) or furthering my teaching credentials.

Margot Windisch, ADOS of Linguist

Priviet! I'm Margot, ADOS of Linguist, one of the schools in the BKC family. This is my fifth year with BKC, and in general it has been a happy working relationship. I especially appreciate the opportunities for self-development and professional growth that I have been given here. Being a South African, adapting to the climate has been one of the most difficult things about living in Moscow – I’d never owned boots or a woolen hat before!

I really enjoy the balance of meeting colleagues from all over the world, and getting to know our Russian students. My best Russian experience to date was a train ride on the Trans Siberian, all the way from Moscow to Vladivostok. Along the way, I met so many wonderful, kind, generous people, saw some spectacular scenery and fell in love with Russian trains!

Elizabeth Bearman, Senior ADOS of Satellite Schools

My name is Liz and I am the Senior ADOS of Satellite Schools and supervisor of Chistye Prudy Central School. I've been with BKC for 5 years (with a year's break when I went to work in Italy). The fact that I came back here after only a year in Italy shows how much I must like it here in Moscow and at BKC! I've worked in a remote school (Zheleznodorozhny) and a central school, but I've spent most of my time in the Satellites department. I love the variety of the work here, though my favourite is teaching young learners, especially the under-10s.

I also love living in Moscow-it's quite challenging sometimes, but, having lived in several different countries, including Egypt, South Korea and Finland, I have to say that Moscow is one of my favourite places.

Edward Evans, ADOS for Satellite Schools

When I finished my PhD in Chemistry, I decided it was time for a change. I’d also been learning Russian at university, and spent three months working in a laboratory in Moscow. I therefore decided to turn my aptitude in learning languages on its head, and try my hand at teaching English in Moscow.

I did my CELTA at BKC and started teaching here in January 2006. During that time, I’ve taught all ages, from 4-year-olds upwards. I also spent over a year teaching in-company, specialising in business classes. Now I’m an ADOS for five satellite schools (Proletarkskaya, Novogireevo, Partizanskaya, Zhulebino and Novokosino). I’ve been with BKC for nearly four years, and enjoy the immense variety of classes, the ample opportunities for training, and the huge amount of educational support available.

Moscow’s six-month winters do start to pall, but otherwise it’s a really exciting city, with lots of things to see and do, and I certainly haven’t seen or done them all yet!

Andrea Iorga, ADOS for Satellite Schools

Salut! I’m Andreea, I’m from Romania, and I’m one of the Satellites ADOSes. This year I’m in charge of Akademicheskaya, Universitet, Prazhkaya, Kashirskaya. Krasnogvardeskaya and Troitsk.

Back home I did a degree in English and Romanian, then worked in Romania for 4 years teaching English and Romanian as a foreign language. I did my CELTA in 2005, then decided I wanted to work for a big school with lots of training opportunities, so I came to Moscow in September 2006. Interest in self development and my experience acquired in Romania and here made me believe I could help other teachers as well, so I applied for a senior position in February 2008 and have been an ADOS ever since. I’ve recently done my Delta, and now I’m preparing for the exam.

I never expected to be here for so long, but Moscow does get under your skin and BKC is a place with lots of opportunities for those interested in professional development- a wide variety of age groups, levels and types of classes, an excellent teacher training department, great teacher support and opportunities for promotion.